This can cause difficulty for learners as not all languages make a distinction between comparatives and superlatives. In English, there are rules which we visit below.
comparatives are adjectives and adverbs that end in ‘er’
In December it is winter and it gets colder and colder.
The older I get, the greyer my hair becomes.
superlatives are adjectives and adverbs that end in ‘est’
Friday 21st June is the longest day of the year.
The brightest day of the week was certainly today.
General rule
We can add ‘er’ and ‘est’ to the end of most one syllable shorter adjectives, for example:
cold, fast, big, small, grand, wide etc
Exception
When an adjective is also a past participle, we have to use more and most:
The bigger the prize, the more interested they become.
I am more interested in the bigger picture.
The most used question in English is ‘would you like a cup of tea?’
We sometimes choose to use more and most with one syllable adjectives to contrast with less:
Q. Do you find it less hot with the window open? A. Yes, it is more hot with the window closed!
With many 2 syllable words, we can choose to use either use ‘more’, ‘most’, ‘er’ or ‘est’
Who is the grumpier/most grumpy out of your aunt and uncle?
I was 7 kg heavier/more heavy when I was not cycling!
We can also use more and most with adjectives that are the same as a present or past participle
The mood is more happy/happier than some weeks ago.
With the growth of the internet, people appear cleverer/more clever than ever before.
The use of more and most extends to adjectives that end:
-some, -en, -ent, -ive, -ous…. such as
The human population was happier before smartphones.
Our business activities are busier/more busy than before
Less and least can be used with all adverbs and adjectives
That guy is less handsome that the others.
The least handsome guy is that one.
Sid is looking for a less broken example of furniture.
The least broken piece of furniture is this one.
_______
What have you compared today?
What advice would you give to someone who is comparing holidays, cars or food?
What makes you feel better or worse and why?
